Business magazine Fast Company is debuting a suite of applications focusing on providing experiential and video content to interested users? mobile and over-the-top devices.

The apps will be produced in partnership with media technology company Maz, through its TVX platform, which powers over 1,000 apps across mobile, OTT, and the web. Fast Company already touts a large repository of video content through an assortment of channels, including FastCo Exclusives, Co.Design Exclusives and Co.Create Exclusives, and will look to the OTT and mobile apps as an outlet for its content library that does not involve the hoops and regulations of traditional broadcast. 

?With an increasing number of cord-cutters and the ability to create branded channels on OTT devices, magazine publishers are seeing a new opportunity to push their brand from magazine publisher to media company,? said Shouvik Paul, chief revenue officer at Maz. ?We spoke to the hundreds of publishers that work with Maz and discovered that most produce both short form or web series videos, which they publish on social media and their site ? but what was missing from their strategies were OTT and connected TVs.

?The challenge with OTT has been the difficulty of creating and maintaining separate apps for each OTT device, which require different development and coding, that's where MAZ steps in,? he said. ?Our TVX platform takes all their video content and creates customizable apps for all mobile and OTT platforms.?

The apps will be Fast Company's first dedicated video product, and, mirroring many publications looking to stand out in a new media ecosystem, the publication will look to emphasize video as a key area for future investment. 

Maz?s TVX platform will allow Fast Company users to have a seamless experience across mobile and OTT through proprietary technology: the company?s TVX 360 Sync technology will give users the ability to save videos on their phone to watch them later on TV.

?I love seeing Fast Company's videos on a big TV screen!? said Carly Migliori, director of digital editorial operations at Fast Company. ?These apps really showcase the breadth of our video offerings, and allow our users easy access to our premium series. 

?This platform not only gives our fans entry to exclusive content, but also increases our brand awareness and introduces Fast Company to new audiences all over the world.?

Many news media publications have been augmenting moves over to digital newsrooms to include dedicated integrations of video reportage, and many of these same newsrooms have been experimenting with VR and 360-degree video as a way to provide immersive coverage of news topics. However, news media?s bet on VR is looking to follow the same tack as brand integrations of VR over the past year: a relatively low-profile endeavor.

One such project is The New York Times? daily 360-degree video series, called The Daily 360, which came about as a result of material cooperation with Samsung, which provided Gear 360 cameras and equipment for Times journalists. The Daily 360 has been a fixture of the times newsroom since November (see story). 

And last October, Time Inc. is teamed up with New Zealand-based 3D virtual reality firm 8i to bring a series of holographic messages designed for future missions to Mars to mobile users (see story). 

?These days, there is a significant fragmentation of most brand's audience that prefers engagement with video rather than articles,? Mr. Paul said. ?Having Fast Company and other partners we work with like Outside TV and Radar Online embrace OTT as the next big platform makes it clear that it's the next move for media companies to stay relevant and attract new audiences. 

?OTT is still fairly new and there's a distinct opportunity to be discoverable and attract a new market of traffic and engagement.?